<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Ghost Stories by skycloud86</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29314704">Ghost Stories</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/skycloud86/pseuds/skycloud86'>skycloud86</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>24 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:07:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,047</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29314704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/skycloud86/pseuds/skycloud86</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"You might think I'm joking, but he swore that anyone who died in the building is now stuck in there. He's seen probably three or four different ghosts."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Seven Faces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>A/N - According to the 24 Wiki, CTULA moved to a new building between Days Three and Four. For the purposes of this fic, this didn't happen and the original building was renovated instead.</strong>
</p><p>The large, non-descript building was to be found in the west of Los Angeles, although the quiet dullness of the structure hid what had been a colourful past. Several years before, it had been the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorist Unit, a now disbanded agency, and since it had lost such a purpose it had been empty except for the occasional homeless person. Eventually, a new reason for it to exist arrived, and with it a group of construction workers who were turning it into a block of luxury apartments.</p><p>Sat outside on their lunch break, the small group of workers had been chatting away as they ate, the heat of the Southern Californian summer kept at bay by an awning. They had been discussing the ongoing work and the building itself.</p><p>"I knew a guy who worked here as security, you wouldn't believe some of the things he saw," came a comment from one of the workers. The stories he had been told sounded like something out of the movies, and if he didn't know his friend he would never have believed most of them.</p><p>"Knew a guy who worked here too, he always claimed that the place was haunted," another worker spoke before laughter broke out. He smiled as his friends reacted, before looking up at one of the windows.</p><p>"You might think I'm joking, but he swore that anyone who died in the building is now stuck in there. He's seen probably three or four different ghosts." He had never seen a ghost himself, but he had no reason to doubt his friend. The looks on the faces of the other workers told him that they didn't have the same faith.</p><p>"For example, this one time he was there late at night and saw this woman walking away from him. He called out to her, and as she turned around, he saw four bullet wounds in her and a bleeding gash on her neck. Seconds later, she vanished," he continued. Some of the faces turned from doubt to curiosity.</p><p>"So she got shot inside this building and now she's walking around it? Does your friend know anything more about her, Dan?" someone asked. He wondered who the mystery woman was and why she had been shot four times.</p><p>"Yeah, my friend didn't recognise her. He did recognise one of the ghosts, though," Dan replied. "These mercenaries had invaded the place and a friend of his got shot in the head by them. He saw the guy not long before the agency was closed."</p><p>The conversation moved on to other, less paranormal topics, but if any of them had looked up at a window on the second floor of the building they would have noticed something. Glancing out, at nothing in particular, were seven faces of people who died long ago.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Jamey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Knocked unconscious by the taser, Jamey was at Nina's mercy and Nina Myers was not a merciful person. Ensuring that she was definitely out before beginning the murder, Nina smashed a teacup before selecting a particularly sharp shard, taking hold of Jamey's arm and slicing deep into the skin, cleaving open the long vein on her forearm. Nina watched as the blood flowed, before she lifted her head up to stare straight into the nearest camera with cold eyes. As Jamey's life slipped away, her killer's thoughts were simply on deleting the camera footage and as Nina slipped out of the room, Jamey stood next to her corpse.</em>
</p><p>She looked at herself, terrified of the sight. The blood that was flowing from her arms, the fact that she was alone in a distant room and unlikely to be found any time soon. As she began to understand her situation, she felt an overwhelming sense of loss. Not only was she losing her life, but she was also losing her son.</p><p>"Kyle, I'm so sorry," she whispered even though nobody could hear her. She wondered if this would be happening if she had declined the offer, said no to the mysterious man who offered her more money than she could make in years. It had never been about greed or herself, she had intended for every cent to go towards supporting her family. Now he had lost his mother, and CTU were sure to seize the money that she had sacrificed herself for.</p><p>Wandering the corridors, watching as her former co-workers got on with their day, Jamey could only wonder why she was a ghost within CTU. Was she doomed to forever be trapped here, in the place where she was killed in cold blood?</p><p>Hours passed until it was the middle of the night, at least as far as Jamey could tell - time didn't seem to be a relevant concept to her anymore - and she had been following Teri for a short while until she had gone into the ITS room. She had stayed outside, until the sound of muffled gunshots told her that something bad had happened. Suddenly, Nina ran out of the room, gun in her hand, and Jamey wanted to stop her or warn someone, but she had no way of doing that. She hesitated near the door for a few moments, before entering. Inside, she found Teri, bound to a chair with a bloodstain spreading on her chest. She felt like crying as she watched another of Nina's victims die.</p><p>"Why are you doing this, Nina?" she spoke quietly, only to get a strange feeling that she was not alone. Stood next to her was Teri, who was staring at her own body just like Jamey had done earlier that day. Seconds later, she was hugging Teri, glad not just for the human contact but also that she could give her something she didn't have - comfort in the moments after death.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Teri</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>She was in a state of deep shock. Even though she had learned of Nina being Jack's mistress, Teri had been thankful for her help during what had been a terrifying day, but now Teri found herself tied to a chair. Nina had killed someone in that very room moments before she had entered, Nina had pointed a gun at her and bound her to a chair. The woman who had been helping protect her family all day was working for the very people who were trying to destroy them. A deceptively soothing and calm voice spoke to her, telling Teri that she was leaving now, bringing a sense of relief. It was a short-lived sensation, though, as seconds later bullets tore into her chest and stomach. Teri's last thoughts were of Jack, Kim and the unborn child who would never be.</em>
</p><p>Teri looked at her body and was unable to understand anything at first before it all came back to her. The out of body experience was startling enough, but as she realised that the body she saw was never to be hers again she burst into tears. After all she and her family had been though that day, the dream of a better future had been cruelly snatched from her. Looking around, hoping that neither Jack or Kim would have to see the macabre scene, she was shocked to see a small woman stood nearby, looking straight at her.</p><p>"You can see me?" Teri asked before she noticed the woman's bloodied forearm, where a nasty wound was visible. Suddenly, the younger woman moved forwards, hugging her tightly.</p><p>"Teri, I'm so sorry," Jamey spoke quietly. She was secretly delighted that she hadn't just walked straight through Teri and could actually make contact with someone else still. For a few minutes, the pair hugged in silence as Teri realised just why Jamey could see her.</p><p>"We're dead, aren't we?" Teri replied, her hand gently pressed against her stomach. Jamey simply nodded in response, unable to come up with any answer that would seem satisfactory.</p><p>They stood together in silence for a while, both trying not to stare at Teri's dead body which sat like a pale mannequin in the middle of the room. All of a sudden, a commotion from the corridors could be heard. Almost as soon as the noise had begun, Jack had rushed into the room and all he could see was Teri, not the ghost trying her hardest to call out to him, but her body from which life had fled.</p><p>"Teri? Teri?!" Jack cried in anguish, rushing over to her and grabbing her in his arms, embracing her. Both Teri and Jamey watched helplessly as Jack sobbed, holding onto his wife as if trying to find some comfort from her.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, Teri, I'm so sorry" Jack whispered to her. He had done all he could to protect his family, but it had not been enough in the end.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Paula</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>She was struggling to breathe as they worked on her, her eyes failing to do more than show her blurry images of whoever was standing near her. If she could have seen clearly, she would have observed chaos in what had been a busy office just moments before. Mason was stood near her, trying to get her to use what little time she had left to help them and she wanted so badly to do just that, to be a heroine for them. Her last words were one simple French word repeated a couple of times and as she took her last breath, she wished simply that it would save many lives.</em>
</p><p>Almost as soon as she had closed her eyes for the final time, she found herself not only wide awake but stood up amongst the rubble. Confused, she looked around her surroundings, only for her eyes to fall on her body. Terrified, she stared at herself, unable to comprehend what was happening to her and, as the reality dawned on her, tears welled up in her eyes.</p><p>"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" she asked as she tried to make eye contact with anyone around her. She turned and saw a woman staring straight at her, but something was wrong. The woman looked like she had been injured in the blasts, but Paula was sure that the wounds appeared to be bullet holes.</p><p>"You can hear and see them, but they can't hear you and they might never see you except for a few brief seconds," Teri spoke. She looked sadly at the young woman who was still in the very early stages of understanding what exactly had happened to her.</p><p>"I'm Teri Bauer, Jack's wife. I was killed here eighteen months ago and since then I've been wandering the building, watching as life went on," she explained as if she was talking about something completely normal and usual.</p><p>"Are we going to be here forever?" Paula asked. Surely this was just her brain playing tricks on her as it caught up with the rest of her body?</p><p>"I don't know, I don't even know why this has happened to us," Teri replied honestly. She had thought about it a lot since her death, but no matter how many theories she came up with, none satisfied her.</p><p>"I hope they got the information they needed from my computer," Paula spoke as she glanced over at Mason. Her last moments had been spent trying to remember the exact file they needed and it had taken every last ounce of energy she had left to do so. She had known she was dying, but she had been determined to do what she could to stop the threat.</p><p>A few hours later, and an eery silence fell inside CTU. Paula looked around for Teri, but couldn't find her, before her eyes fell on the small, chained woman being escorted by four guards. She didn't recognise her, but overhearing Michelle Dessler mention her name, she knew exactly who Nina Myers was.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Nina</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>She could tell that he wasn't going to let her live this time, and in a way, she felt relieved. Sure, the life of Nina Myers was about to come to a violent end, but it felt almost like her destiny to die at the hands of Jack Bauer. She had known that the gun was out of her reach and that even if it had been she would have had no chance of actually using it, but it was her own little way of seeking forgiveness. Allowing Jack the chance to claim self-defence, she gazed up at the ceiling, her last thoughts of them together in happier times, before all of the games and hatred. As the bullets tore into her heart, it felt like a sort of redemption.</em>
</p><p>Nina had never been a religious person, so she had never really considered what might happen after death. The fact that she was now stood next to her own body whilst Jack crouched nearby was disturbing to her and she wondered if it was all just a very strange dream. She thought for a moment before gently placing her hand on Jack's shoulder, but this didn't seem to register with him at all. She stood in between her body and him, but he just stared straight through her. The look in his eyes, Nina noticed, was not one of happiness or peacefulness, it was one of sadness. He had gotten the revenge he had longed for, but he had lost part of his humanity in doing so. Sure, she could no longer harm any more innocents, but in order to make it happen he had to cross a line he thought he would never break. She was hardly the first person he had killed, but this was outright murder.</p><p>"Nina?" A woman's voice called out, surprising Nina. She looked around the room before her eyes met those of Teri, who seemed to be no happier at seeing Nina dead than Jack had been. Astonished, she was about to tell Jack that Teri was stood behind him, but she quickly realised the impossibility of such an act.</p><p>"How is this even happening?" Nina spoke quietly, her eyes gazing at a woman she had murdered years before, in the very same room.</p><p>"I'm not sure on the specifics, but we seem stuck here. Not just us, there are others too, anyone who died here," Teri replied, and Nina recalled Jamey as well as the medical staff she had killed. It seemed that a large number of those trapped in CTU were there because of her and, for the first time in years, she felt shame. She took another glance at Jack, who was now standing, presumably waiting for Chappelle to come and assess what had happened. Returning her attention to Teri, she walked closer to the other woman, who showed no sign of fear as she did so.</p><p>"I never meant for things to get so out of control, Teri," Nina spoke quietly. How had she gone from simply selling information to bidding for a biological weapon that could kill millions? Maybe her death was an act of mercy for her as well.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Stephen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>He looked around CTU curiously, examining the agency that had foiled his plans for revenge. Handcuffed and made to sit on a chair in the middle of a busy office, he wanted to feel humiliation and anger but neither feeling would be of much use to him now. He gazed at different people for a moment or two before moving on to another individual, before he noticed a woman walking towards him. She looked different from the other people around him and it was quickly apparent that she was a civilian rather than a federal agent. Stephen had little time to wonder why she was approaching him before she pulled out a gun. His eyes went wide and he wanted to call out to whoever was nearby, but his voice was foiled by the bullets that took his life, an act of revenge that had succeeded.</em>
</p><p>He groaned as his eyes slowly opened again, pressing his hands against his chest. Noticing that he was neither handcuffed nor sitting down anymore and nobody really caring about it, he considered just walking out of the building but something told him that he would not be doing that any time soon. The next thing he noticed was his own body being moved off of the chair he had been sitting on.</p><p>"If I had known what he was up to, I would never have gone near Mexico," Nina spoke as she walked up to a shocked Stephen. He looked at her with confusion - why was this clearly injured woman the only one who seemed to acknowledge his existence?</p><p>"I'm sorry?" Stephen replied, before realising. She was talking about Amador, which meant that this woman was the infamous Nina Myers.</p><p>"You're stuck here now, Saunders, just like me. Oh, and a few others," Nina replied, before grinning slightly. For once, it wasn't because of her.</p><p>Stephen stared at her, before noticing a group of people on the other side of the room watching him. All of them had some sort of injury on their body. Looking down slowly, he saw his own wound, painless but obvious, before returning his attention to Nina.</p><p>"This can't be happening," he spoke quietly. He didn't believe in anything after death, never mind ghosts, but here was direct evidence that he was dead and yet still conscious. He tried catching the attention of a nearby agent, who seemed completely unaware of the man trying to grab his arm.</p><p>"Perhaps one day we'll know for sure why this is indeed happening, but some have been here for years without a single clue as to what is causing this," Nina told him, unsure as to how much amusement she could get from his utter confusion. She was hardly a veteran of this strange new reality herself.</p><p>Stephen sighed before deciding to explore a little, find out more about the place he was potentially spending eternity in. He comforted himself with the thought that it could be worse.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Edgar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>He coughed violently as the gas invaded his body, cutting off the oxygen supply and letting him know that he was going to be dead in just a few short moments. His senses were all weakened and he felt all alone in the world as he collapsed to his knees, just a small distance from where he had been working just minutes before. Part of him kept fighting, wanting to survive the gas, beat it into submission, but he knew that his life was quickly coming to an end. As the last strongholds of existence within him collapsed, he saw for a few brief seconds with perfect clarity and he was calmed by the vision of Chloe's face, her warm eyes already mourning him. His own eyes then slowly closed for what he thought was the last time.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>As he looked around in confusion, he first wondered how he was still alive. He could see those who had survived, safe inside the sealed room, but they seemed unaware that he was standing there looking at them. Suddenly, an object in the corner of his eye demanded his attention, and he quickly realised that it was his own dead body. Forcing himself to look away from his corpse, he noticed a small woman walking towards him.</p><p> </p><p>"Edgar, right?" Jamey spoke as she approached him. She had seen all sorts of attacks on CTU, all kinds of deaths, but this was a new one to her.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, or at least I was," Edgar replied, although as soon as he spoke, he noticed the long gash on her arm. Whoever she was, she was very much not alive anymore.</p><p> </p><p>"I died many years ago, you wouldn't believe half the things I've witnessed in this building," Jamey commented as if what she had just said was perfectly normal. Of course, time had begun to lose all meaning to her, and she spoke of years not as a concept she still believed in, but as a measurement familiar to those who were still alive or had only recently made the leap from living CTU employee to ghost.</p><p> </p><p>"I had no idea so many people had died here before," Edgar spoke as he saw the other ghosts. Most were people he didn't know, but some were brand new to the afterlife like himself. He recognised them not only by face but because they seemed to be the only ones who weren't walking around with what should have been fatal wounds.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, as the gas finally dissipated and those in the airtight rooms could finally be released, Edgar watched as the bodies were carefully carried away to the morgue and things got back to as normal as they could be in a place like CTU. Another ghost, a woman who had earlier introduced herself as Paula, approached him as they watched his corpse being lifted into a body bag.</p><p> </p><p>"A bomb killed me and several others, this place was badly damaged and even though the living had just lost friends and colleagues, they had to keep going in order to stop the threat. Sometimes I wonder if that's why we're here because even though sadness hangs in the air, it cannot be dwelled upon," she spoke quietly.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Milo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>As the mercenary called out for the Director to present themselves to him, Milo knew what the guy was going to do and maybe if the Director had been someone other than her, he would have stayed kneeling and let someone else make a noble sacrifice. The fact that it was Nadia gave him only one choice, to stand up in her place and save her life, protect her from the bullet he was sure would soon be taking his life instead of hers. Seconds had gone by since the demand, and he knew he could not stall any longer. Forcing himself to stand up quickly, before he could change his mind, he kept calm as he announced who he was - Milo Pressman, Director of CTU. The end was mercifully swift as the bullet smashed into his forehead, and by the time his body made contact with the floor, he was dead.</em>
</p><p>For a few brief seconds, Milo thought he had somehow survived a traumatic bullet to the frontal cortex, until he saw Jack gently closing the eyes of his corpse. He looked over at Nadia, the woman he had given his life for, and saw sadness in her eyes. Wishing he could comfort her, he was about to walk over to her, before reminding himself that things had changed forever.</p><p>"Milo?" a soft voice called from nearby. It had been years since he had heard that voice, but he recognised it as Jamey's immediately. Confused, he slowly turned around and saw his former friendly rival. He smiled at her, noticing but trying not to look at the bright red wound where her vein had been sliced. That day had lived on in his memory for many reasons, and he had no desire to actively remember a moment of it.</p><p>"Jamey? I'm not sure what's happening to me," he spoke, before noticing that she was not alone. Behind her stood a small group of people, most of whom had noticeable wounds. Two of them he recognised as Teri Bauer and Nina Myers, but he had no idea who the others were.</p><p>"I guess you don't fully understand it yet, but you're dead and you're stuck here in CTU," Jamey replied. She had somehow been the first of many such ghosts, although she was unsure why, and at this point she often saw as many ghosts as living people.</p><p>"Forever?" Milo asked, not at all pleased with the idea. Jamey's death had happened almost ten years before, a decade of being unable to leave the place where she had been murdered in cold blood.</p><p>"As far as any of us know," Jamey spoke sadly. She had seen some ghosts almost go mad trying to work out how to free themselves, but it was a pointless endeavour. Maybe one day they would have some answers.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>